An Ohio man stands accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend and her unborn baby, who was eight-months along at the time of the attack.
A 17-year-old pregnant teenager and her unborn child died over the weekend just hours after she was released from the hospital following a domestic violence incident.
Ashtabula Police said they responded to the 900 block of W. 48th St. just before 6 a.m. Sunday for a report of a domestic situation.
Upon arrival, a 17-year-old girl, Taisha Ramirez, of Ashtabula, was found with minor facial injuries, including what appeared to be a broken nose.
The victim was treated at Ashtabula County Medical Center and then released. Police said she was also eight months pregnant.
The girl’s boyfriend Marque Brown, 20, who witnesses say was the suspect in the assault, was also located at the scene. Officers took him into custody on a domestic violence charge. Police said that he is believed to be the father of the teen’s unborn baby.
Then around 9:15 a.m., paramedics responded back to W. 48th Street for a report of Ramirez being found unresponsive, according to Ashtabula Police and the Ashtabula County coroner.
Authorities said the Ramirez was rushed back to the hospital, where she and her unborn child died at 10:34 a.m.
Over the years the pro-life movement has supported legislation that would ensure that criminals who attack pregnant women and kill or injure their unborn children can be charged with two crimes.
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According to the National Right to Life Committee, some 35 states recognize the unlawful killing of an unborn child as homicide in at least some circumstances. The federal Unborn Victims of Violence Act, enacted April 1, 2004, covers unborn victims of federal and military crimes.
Of the 37 states, 29 of them offer justice and protecting for women and unborn children throughout pregnancy while another 8 offer the protection only during the early stages. In Ohio, at any stage of pre-natal development, if an “unborn member of the species homo sapiens, who is or was carried in the womb of another” is killed, it is aggravated murder, murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, negligent homicide, aggravated vehicular homicide, and vehicular homicide.
